The weird thing is back in the day I remember that Porsche offered a "Euro" tail light option on the 996/997 911. It made the entire rear red including the turn signals. Very Ironic since amber turn signals have been required in Europe for quite a while.
Amber or Red rear turn signals....
- Thread starter Oillover
- Start date
Could be worse, you could have brake lights on the bumper, like the Mini Clubman or the current Chevy Bolt
They are both important. People driving on your rear quarters need to know if you are changing lanes or turning.
Speaking of turn signals I absolutely despise the cars that have them mounted in the rear bumper instead where they usually are with the other tail lights.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
Amber. So you can tell them apart from the red. IMO YMMV
Big clue the vehicle is turning, amber or red - they blink. 
or am I missing something? Sadly, all too many don't use their indicators at all or only when or after they are turning. This is my biggest concern as a driver and particularly as a motorcycle rider.
or am I missing something? Sadly, all too many don't use their indicators at all or only when or after they are turning. This is my biggest concern as a driver and particularly as a motorcycle rider.
I installed the OE all red rears on our 986, but hesitated a bit for this reason. I do not like the ambers and have usually gone with OE clear versions where available...and may yet on the Boxster. The all red rears were US only IIRC on special editions e.g. S 550 Spyder, etc.
Red turn signals are a cleaner look IMO. I have never noticed any safety hazard with red turn signals. Certain designs are harder to see, the Infiniti G37 amber turn signal gets lost in the glare of the led brake lights. The G37 would have benefited from using the brake light as the turn signal.
Taillight lenses that are oxidized are more difficult to see. The late 80’-late 90’s GM C/K trucks and suburbans come to mind.
With that being said, the safest turn signals are the ones that people actually use. So many people never use their blinker.
I’ll add that BITOG is a small percentage of the overall population, and not once in my life has the conversation of red vs amber turn signal safety come up in normal life. It appears that some of you may be overly OCD…
Taillight lenses that are oxidized are more difficult to see. The late 80’-late 90’s GM C/K trucks and suburbans come to mind.
With that being said, the safest turn signals are the ones that people actually use. So many people never use their blinker.
I’ll add that BITOG is a small percentage of the overall population, and not once in my life has the conversation of red vs amber turn signal safety come up in normal life. It appears that some of you may be overly OCD…
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2022
- Messages
- 1,010
He did a good job in that video
what's DOT say?
Seems it'd be regs back to the '70s? when side markers became required...
(my '69, no - the '70, yes). I thought all the new (all that bling) had the amber, I guess not...
Seems it'd be regs back to the '70s? when side markers became required...
(my '69, no - the '70, yes). I thought all the new (all that bling) had the amber, I guess not...
European cars used to use amber, but at some point they started making reds just for US.
On new cars I find that European ones are the ones most consistenly red. Asian cars are usually amber. American cars a mixture.
There was an article in a car magazine way back in the mid-'70s.
They were testing some sort of performance car, crested a hill, and saw a car ahead signalling to turn off ahead of them.
They had assumed the car would turn off at the intersection ahead, couldn't figure out why it hadn't, and realized that one of the car's brake lights was out and the driver had been pumping the brakes.
Standardized amber turn signals would have made it obvious they were seeing a brake light.
That made quite the impression on me as a new driver.
I like how Ford Mustangs have integrated the animated rear red led turn signals. It's all about the design, and honestly, we have gotten away from the mid 90's confusion between a brake and turn signals. It's all in the styling/design.
I prefer amber and 4/5 of my cars have amber rear turns. My Sportwagen doesn't have them and it's a complete replacement with Euro tails to get it so not interested. Older halogen housings on my the non-facelift/MK7 version of my car had housing that you could easily modify by simply removing a red lens inside to get the ambers. It's an area thing I believe....need a turn signal of a certain size/area to have ambers. Red is almost dangerous as it blends in. I have mine set up to flash in a pattern to help with visibility....we call this "urban joke" in the VW world....
Lived and drove for 11 years in Germany while stationed there in the Army. Got VERY accustomed to the amber turn signals which were mandatory in Germany, and throughout Europe I believe. Back here in the US the red turn signals are a bit annoying IMO only from the fact that in some situations, particularly at night, and more so in rainy or limited visibility conditions, a red turn signal can be misinterpreted if a driver is pumping their brakes for some reason. Totally agree that US drivers unfortunately don't use near enough. When I first returned from Germany I sometimes wondered if it was illegal for a car dealer to sell a car with function turn signals, as infrequently as I saw them being used.
Folks here in the U.S. with Euro cars and rear fogs drive me nuts b/c I always think their brake lights are on...then I remember what it is and have trained myseld to look for the high-mounted brake light to discern.
+2
I think styling is the motivator here, naturally. I see lots of high-end European SUVs with red turn signals, too many to even count. Even an Infiniti, too, last night, but I don't know what model it was. It's as if someone years ago decided yellow turn signals are for the proles.
My least-favorites are the older Priuses where the brake and turn signals become invisible due to glare from the midday summer sun reflecting off the taillight lenses. Surely I am not the only one who found them hard to see.
I will almost guarantee you that most of those folks don't even know they are on, never mind how to properly use them.....
I preferred when rear fogs were mostly only on the passing side of the vehicle.
Agreed, they have no idea but it's v. distracting.
Anyone here from the EU that can can speak accurately to current European standards regarding color of rear turn signals?
It is my understanding that, before the EU, many European countries used to require amber turn signals. But any longer, there are a lot of European cars that have red turn signals. For kicks and giggles, I just did a search of late model cars for sale in Europe. I found many with amber rear turn signals, but I also found many with red.
Since FMVSS allows either, why would Mercedes, Audi, BMW and others, go to the expense of designing, purchasing and installing tail lights only for NA market? Is it only for looks? I will admit that, with few exceptions, I prefer the look of all red tail light assemblies. The amber makes a car look cheap, to me. At least up premium cars. Not so much on others.
It is my understanding that, before the EU, many European countries used to require amber turn signals. But any longer, there are a lot of European cars that have red turn signals. For kicks and giggles, I just did a search of late model cars for sale in Europe. I found many with amber rear turn signals, but I also found many with red.
Since FMVSS allows either, why would Mercedes, Audi, BMW and others, go to the expense of designing, purchasing and installing tail lights only for NA market? Is it only for looks? I will admit that, with few exceptions, I prefer the look of all red tail light assemblies. The amber makes a car look cheap, to me. At least up premium cars. Not so much on others.
